The Church Of Jesus Christ Is Alive And Well… But It Will Be VERY Different Than We Expected!

Faith in God and commitment to Jesus Christ are not in danger on planet earth, but what is crumbling around us is the image of church with which we have become comfortable that really needed to be evaluated, adapted, and recalibrated constantly.... The Church of Jesus Christ is alive and well, but it is and will be manifested, lived out, and shared in a multiplicity of different ways than any of us can even yet imagine!  Thanks be to God for this good news!

Seasons Go And Seasons Come

"The labor of Paul or of Apollos would have been fruitless if God had not been at work all along.  [1 Corinthians 3:5-11] also makes clear that God’s work continues after we are gone.  Not to be crass, but none of Paul’s own churches are still in existence in the place and way they were when he founded them, but God STILL is giving the growth!  This is foundational for the Church of Jesus Christ, for all churches, and for Parma Christian Church in order for the hope we have of our labors to not be in vain, even as – perhaps especially as – this faithful congregation concludes its visible and regular ministry. There are those who plant, and those who water, but it is God who ultimately gives the growth!"

“Abide With Us” Means Building Deeper Relationships”

An excerpt: "We are called to “abide” with each other, and not just our family and friends and those who think and act and look like us. I believe that God becoming flesh and dwelling amongst humanity in significant ways, even when it wasn’t always fully understood and even when it engendered antipathy, misunderstanding, and violence, God still felt moved to abide with us and for us to abide with God – and each other. This momentous act puts relationship and relationship building at the center of what the Divine does and expects us to do the same."

Drunk With The Wine Of The World?

I think the church has become “drunk with the wine of the world” in looking at and trying to emulate other churches and denominations who are bigger, flashier, more hip, and therefore are at great risk of losing our sense of covenantal values.

Reimagining and Retooling Faith For An Explosive World

"I have begun to fear we have a reckoning coming that echoes less King’s arc and more the apocalyptic imagery James Baldwin used in his book which I chose as the reading material while on silent retreat the week before my ordination to Christian ministry: God gave Noah the rainbow sign; No more water, the fire next time. So let me zoom in on the world in which I live and work and have the most influence, and that is the mainline Protestant church of the late 20th and early 21st century.   I want to offer five temptations that humanity has struggled with its entire existence, but which we post-moderns are wrestling with in particularly challenging ways right now.  And, lest you think I have given up all hope, I will conclude by offering what I think are antidotes to each and what people of faith, in particular, can do to help change the course of history for the good."